Waffen SS-Red Cross Photo Album with Himmler Photos

A large and exceptionally interesting World War II photograph album that was apparently compiled by a man or woman serving with a German Red Cross unit that was attached to the Waffen SS. One of the photos shows the state seal of the Soviet Union painted on a wall, indicating that the scenes shown in the photographs were taken in an area that had been a part of the Soviet Union before the war. The album contains 172 black and white photographs which depict Waffen SS personnel, male and female Red Cross personnel, images of wartime destruction (damaged buildings, a crashed ambulance, etc.), and photographs taken in a Jewish Ghetto area. The album is approximately 7 1/2 by 11 inches in size. The cover is printed with the color image of a mountain top and edelweiss flowers. Additionally, stenciled on the cover is the large designation “SS DRK”. Some of the photographs in the album can be described as follows:

– There are two candid photographs which show Reichsfuhrer SS Heinrich Himmler, in both of which he is wearing his white lapel overcoat with Reichsfuhrer SS collar tabs. In one of the photographs Himmler exits a doorway which is flanked by two Red Cross men at attention. Note that the men, although apparently serving as guards, do not have rifles, which is consistent with their service in the Red Cross, although the man closest to the camera can clearly be seen to be wearing the Third Reich Red Cross enlisted man’s hewer on his belt. In another photograph Himmler examines a map table together with several SS Generals and a Red Cross General (note the white lapels on the overcoats, including that of the Red Cross General, behind Himmler). In the photograph Himmler’s aide, SS General Karl Wolf, stands behind Himmler while an SS officer in the black Allgemeine uniform (and wearing an “RFSS” cuff title) gestures to the maps.

– A Red Cross man stands next to a motorcycle and sidecar. On the sidecar is very clearly stenciled “SS-DRK”. The Red Cross man is wearing one of the yellow armbands with “Waffen SS” upon it, an armband that was worn by non-SS personnel who were attached to, and working with, the Waffen SS. Another photograph shows a two engine German aircraft that has crash landed. An SS totenkopf is clearly visible painted on the fuselage of the plane. In front of the plane are two Red Cross men and, again, one of them wears the “Waffen SS” armband.

– There are several photographs that were taken in a Ghetto area, one of which shows the sign identifying the entrance to the ghetto for Wehrmacht personnel. The photos include individuals who wear a cloth Star of David on their clothing.

– There are numerous photos of SS and Red Cross personnel in various scenes and activities, even including the performance of surgery. In one photo an SS officer can be seen to be wearing an SS runes collar tab with the small letter “S” next to the runes, indicating a medical officer of the SS-Sanitatsabteilung.

– There are two photographs of well dressed middle aged women and it seems that one of them was someone of note, for she is being accompanied by an officer of the SD who walks just behind her.

There appears to be only one photograph missing from the album. The album is a fascinating historical document and it would probably take relatively little research to identify the specific Waffen SS and Red Cross units depicted in the photographs or to determine their location when the photos were taken. Excellent used condition.